The Sky Whale

"Your Majesty, pardon the intrusion!"

"What happened!?"

Queen Tianis demanded answers the instant the soldier entered.

She'd sensed something was wrong.

The soldier looked somewhat bewildered as he spoke.

"We just received a magical communication from the checkpoint. A massive flying object passed through from the direction of the Solar Union."

"A flying object… Don't tell me they've used that meteor spell again? We projected it would take at least a year before they could use it again."

"No, according to the report, it appears to be something entirely different from before…"

The soldier trailed off.

Every second counted if they were going to mount countermeasures.

Queen Tianis seemed to think the same, urging him to continue.

"Rather than a barrage of spells, a single enormous creature passed through, one large enough to blot out the sky. It's hard to believe, but that's exactly what the checkpoint reported."

"A creature large enough to blot out the sky… I've never seen a monster like that. Could it be a Dragon?"

"They couldn't get a clear look at its form, so the details are uncertain. However, they said it resembled… a whale."

"… I see. Get the troops to the outer walls immediately and have the ballistae prepared. We know what direction it's coming from, so concentrate everything there."

"Yes, ma'am!"

The soldier sprinted off to relay the orders.

Queen Tianis immediately dispatched another soldier to instruct the royal mages to reinforce the barrier.

"What on earth… A whale is a large sea creature, isn't it? Why would one be flying through the air toward us?"

"The problem is that it's heading here from the Solar Union. There has to be some kind of intent behind it. Like attacking from the air, for instance."

"The city walls have barely any anti-air defenses. Even if we tried to intercept it, we don't have enough mages."

The kingdom's main military force was currently merged with Duke Baroba's army in Alsarm.

A large number of skilled mages had been allocated there.

They should be launching a renewed offensive right about now.

For the enemy to target the Royal Capital again instead of that force…

And not just long-range spells this time, but a hidden weapon like this on top of it.

The entire concept of warfare was being upended.

This was too one-sided.

Hoping that the giant whale heading this way wouldn't attack the Royal Capital was far too optimistic.

The concert was nearly over.

If they started evacuating the audience now, they might make it in time.

But where would you evacuate people to against a creature like that?

Outside, Princess Yupe was saying something.

She was probably chatting with the energized crowd.

Anatia was somehow managing to cut her off and bring things to a close.

But the audience wasn't satisfied, demanding one more song.

It seemed they'd decided to play an encore, and music began drifting in.

"You all look flustered. It seemed like a success, though."

Evalin, who'd been quietly watching, spoke up.

She must have noticed something was off.

"It seems the Church of the Sun God has sent something our way. A giant flying whale… The timing couldn't be worse, right as the concert's ending."

"A giant flying whale…"

Evalin fell into thought.

Perhaps an elf who'd lived for so many years had seen one before.

If she could identify it, we might be able to form some kind of countermeasure.

I waited, watching Evalin intently.

"Ah. Now that you mention it, I did see one once, long ago. An apostle of the Sun God that swallowed many dragons and drove them to their deaths. There were originally four of them, three now, I believe. It must be one of those."

"An apostle of the Sun God…"

The gods were said to have apostles that followed them.

The god Oscar had the apostle Ent Weihenstephan, a woman.

She'd possessed terrifying magical power and abilities; our entire party had been nearly wiped out by that single individual.

I couldn't gauge just how strong this one was, but if it was an apostle of the Sun God and that enormous, it had to be formidable.

After all, it was large enough to swallow dragons whole.

Azu and Elza had also mentioned witnessing the battle between the Ash King and a dying apostle of the Sun God in the catacombs beneath the Ash Kingdom.

Even reduced to nothing but bones, it had possessed terrifying power, they'd said.

"Should we flee the Royal Capital?"

"Impossible. There's no city that could take in the Royal Capital's entire population. And if the enemy can fly, fleeing on foot would just mean being caught. We're better off making a stand here."

"That's what I thought."

People fleeing on foot would be utterly defenseless.

It would be a one-sided massacre.

There was no time to prepare underground escape routes either.

The concert was still going.

If they called for evacuation now, the resulting panic alone could produce casualties.

"So we're truly at war with the Church of the Sun God, aren't we. That thing had been quiet for a while now."

"Evalin-san. Would you be willing to lend us your strength? I know it's an unreasonable request, but I can't imagine we can intercept something like this on our own. With your power, we might stand a chance."

It was a desperate plea.

But Evalin, an elf with extraordinary abilities, was the only one I could think of who might be able to stand against a creature beyond anything I'd ever heard of.

"Sure."

"Really!?"

Her answer came without hesitation.

Queen Tianis, who'd been watching with bated breath, couldn't help but exclaim.

"Taking it down without preparation won't be easy, but fortunately there's a barrier here. And you people have something useful, don't you? Lend me that, and I should at least be able to drive it off. It's high time we put to rest the rumor that the elves fled from the Sun God in fear."

Evalin snatched up Yohane's tool bag and plunged her hand inside.

What she pulled out was the Thorn Staff, the one even Alexia hadn't been able to wield.

Its ominous radiance overwhelmed the surroundings.

Yet Evalin held it without any trouble.

"Just barely manageable with my level of magical power. Heh, the thorns can sense that an apostle of the Sun God is approaching too."